The 2018 Thomas Jefferson Award recipient is Stephen Ayers, FAIA, Architect of the Capitol. Since appointed as the 11th Architect of the Capitol by President Barack Obama in 2010, Ayers has overseen the continued maintenance and restoration of the more than 570 acres of grounds and 17.4 million square feet of government buildings. His major projects thus far have included the restoration of the bronze Ulysses S. Grant Memorial and the first major restoration of the U.S. Capitol Dome in 50 years, bringing the cast iron structure back to its original glory.

The Thomas Jefferson Award for Public Architecture honors “architects in the public and private sectors, public officials, or other individuals who design distinguished public facilities and/or who advocate for design excellence.”

“For nearly a decade, the Affordable Housing Design Leadership Institute (AHDLI) funded by Enterprise Community Partners, has been a quiet but powerful force shaping social impact design,” explain the AIA. “Modeled on the Mayors’ Institute on City Design, it assembles development and design leaders to focus on the ways in which architecture can produce more livable and sustainable housing for low- and middle-income people across the United States.”

Designed by The Office of James Burnett and completed in 2012, Klyde Warren Park reunited two areas of downtown Dallas previously separated by a freeway through a tremendous feat of engineering. Built from 300 concrete beams and slabs, the park is LEED Gold certified and is home to more than 300 trees and 37 native plant species.

“Klyde Warren Park healed a rift in Dallas where a freeway once divided two vital sections of the city, overcoming an obstacle that many residents feared was permanent,” the AIA explain. “The park, completed in 2012, required significant funding and buy-in from the public and private sectors, but the efforts resulted in 5 acres of activated, world-class green space that has redefined the city and its self-image.”

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) has announced the winners of the 2017 Thomas Jefferson Award for service to public architecture, and the 2017 Collaborative Achievement Award for distinguished achievements of those who have had a beneficial influence on or advanced the architectural profession.